Decommissioning plan for Shimane 1 amended

Japanese utility Chugoku Electric Power Company has submitted to the regulator an amendment to its decommissioning plan for unit 1 of its Shimane nuclear power plant.

Shimane (Image: Chugoku)

Shimane 1 was among five reactors officially taken out of service in April 2015. Chugoku submitted its decommissioning plan for the unit to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in April last year for approval. Its plan outlines the facilities and equipment to be dismantled and a timetable for completing the work.

Chugoku said on 14 February it had submitted an amendment to its plan. After feedback from the NRA on its original plan, the company has added sections confirming decommissioning works at Shimane 1 would not interfere with the safe operation of unit 2 at the plant. In addition, used fuel stored at the site would not be damaged in the event of a loss of cooling water in the fuel storage pools, it said. Chugoku has also provided the NRA with further details about how the equipment at Shimane 1 will be maintained during the unit's decommissioning.

Chugoku expects decommissioning of Shimane 1 - a 460 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) that started commercial operation in March 1974 - to be completed by March 2046.

The company submitted an application to the NRA in December 2013 for approval to restart Shimane 2, a 791 MWe BWR. It is one of 20 reactors moving through the process.

Shimane 1 was one of five older Japanese reactors to be officially declared for decommissioning in mid-March 2015 following the introduction of an accounting-related system earlier that month to determine which units should not be restarted. The other units included Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama units 1 and 2, unit 1 of Japan Atomic Power Company's Tsuruga plant, and Kyushu Electric Power Company's Genkai 1.

Kansai, which submitted its decommissioning plan for Mihama 1 and 2 to the NRA in February last year, submitted similar amendments to its plan earlier this month.